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My First Mythbuntu Build

post #1 of 6
6/28/10 at 10:12am
Thread Starter 
I'm looking to build a fairly simple HTPC/Media Server for my theater setup. I want to use Mythbuntu for the OS/software. I also have a hd pvr for recording.

My research led me to this build:
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor ADX250OCGQBOX
Video Card: POWERCOLOR Go! Green AX5450 512MK3-SH Radeon HD 5450 (Cedar) 512MB 64-bit DDR3 HDCP Ready Video Card
RAM: Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600)
HDD(Media/RAID): SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
HDD(OS): OCZ Solid2 OCZSSD2-2SLD30G 2.5" 30GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive

I'm probably recycling an Antec case and DVD-RW drive. I have a PS3 for bluray, and a Onkyo TrueHD receiver for audio. Eventually I'll build a separate Media server. This is my second ubuntu build and my first htpc build.

Do you think this hardware is compatible? thoughts? advice?
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post #2 of 6
6/28/10 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by moericus View Post

I'm looking to build a fairly simple HTPC/Media Server for my theater setup. I want to use Mythbuntu for the OS/software. I also have a hd pvr for recording.

My research led me to this build:
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor ADX250OCGQBOX
Video Card: POWERCOLOR Go! Green AX5450 512MK3-SH Radeon HD 5450 (Cedar) 512MB 64-bit DDR3 HDCP Ready Video Card
RAM: Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600)
HDD(Media/RAID): SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
HDD(OS): OCZ Solid2 OCZSSD2-2SLD30G 2.5" 30GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive

I'm probably recycling an Antec case and DVD-RW drive. I have a PS3 for bluray, and a Onkyo TrueHD receiver for audio. Eventually I'll build a separate Media server. This is my second ubuntu build and my first htpc build.

Do you think this hardware is compatible? thoughts? advice?

Per

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Keywords=linux

Quote:


Pros: Booted up 1st try. Everything tested is fully functional (haven't tried everything yet). Complete set of BIOS options for tweaking.

So far, everything has worked out of the box with #! CRUNCHBANG LINUX 9.04 64.

A full compliment of ports to accommodate just about anything.

Since Crunchbang is an Ubuntu fork/superset, there should be no issue with that mobo on Ubuntu 10.04.

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?dis...ion=crunchbang

I would recommend using the base Ubuntu 10.04 Gnome, then installing mythbuntu-desktop from Synaptic, per my Ubuntu 9.04 install procedure in the sticky.

Ubuntu/Mythbuntu 10.04 installs even easier than 9.04, with mythbuntu-desktop enabling most things by default you formerly had to enable manually, like the Frontend/backend, plugins, etc.

Just install mythbuntu-desktop in Synaptic, click through the install wizard after the ~250MB download, then set tup the backend per the sticky HOWTO. That's it.

Mythbuntu-desktop installs Xfce by defualt, but it's trivial to switch back to the Gnome desktop if you want to in the System->Admin menu.

Do not use the ATI video card-go for a fanless Nvidia 210/220/240 card for VDPAU and better driver support in general.

Good call on the Samsung hard drive- I've switched to Sammy's from WD and Seagates. I would go 5400rpm for lower power, heat and noise and longer life. Might want to spend extra on a TB notebook 2.5" drive for the same reasons.

Good call on the SSD for the OS drive- I don't know specifics on the OCZ, but I know in the past that SSD's with specific Intel controller chips were preferred among those in the know.

A low cost alternative to an SSD is to simply use a 16GB SDHC/microSDHC card, the fastest you can afford (the highest Class rating). Technically not as fast as a real SSD, but probably fast enough and lower cost. A super small microSDHC reader like

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...67PTCR447KW9JW

which I bought recently for a notebook OS load, makes the card invisible externally vs a USB stick.
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post #3 of 6
6/28/10 at 3:35pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the great idea on the SDHC card. I might go that direction if you really think 16 gb is enough.

As far as the fanless Nvidia cards go, I'm having problems finding a card that will keep Dolby TrueHD through the HDMI. I don't see any documentation regarding HD Audio.

I'm pretty sure my proposed setup keeps HD Audio for my receiver with the ATI card's HDMI output.
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post #4 of 6
6/29/10 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by moericus View Post

Thanks for the great idea on the SDHC card. I might go that direction if you really think 16 gb is enough.

As far as the fanless Nvidia cards go, I'm having problems finding a card that will keep Dolby TrueHD through the HDMI. I don't see any documentation regarding HD Audio.

I'm pretty sure my proposed setup keeps HD Audio for my receiver with the ATI card's HDMI output.

16GB should be enough for your OS. I would put your recordings and other media files on a separate drive though.

As for Dolby TrueHD, I'm afraid you won't find much support for that in Linux right now. And you're right, the ATI cards are the only ones that can do it right now, and in Windows only.
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post #5 of 6
6/29/10 at 1:02pm
Yes, 16GB is more than enough for the OS install plus all the apps any sane person would need, including a minimal /home directory.
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post #6 of 6
6/30/10 at 5:55am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all of your help. I hope to finish this box in July.
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